Beet harvester



Aug. 20, 1935. L MALCOM 1- AL Re. 19,672

BEET HARVESTER Original Filed Aug. 25, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 \i snow Hot .L/VALco/v HSHAnnE/w ell Imago.

wan woo 1935. H. MALCOM ET AL Re. 19,672

BEET HARVESTER Original Filed Aug. 25, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. L. MALCOM ET! AL Aug. 20, 1935.

BEET HARVESTER Original Filed Aug. 25, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ACLMALcOM Aug. 20, 1935. H, MALCOM ET AL Re. 19,672

BEET HARVESTER Original Filed Aug. 25, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W Qv E A J W M w; W W? MM 0 i a,

Reissued Aug. 20, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BEET HARVESTER ley, Idaho Original No. 1,880,324, dated October 4, 1932,

Serial No. 559,318, August 25, 1931.

Application for reissue February 24, 1934, Serial No.

14 Claims.

The invention relates to a new and improved machine for harvesting beets, and said machine is preferably in the form of a trailer for a digger which loosens the beets but leaves them 5 standing more or less upright in the earth, and

due to the provision of novel construction and unique relations of elements, the following operations are performed upon the loosened beets with complete success. The tops of the beets are condensed transversely of the row and guided between two endless top-gripping conveyors, and any beets standing too high for passage otherwise under said conveyors, are depressed to the required extent. The beets are conveyed rearwardly and upwardly by the conveyors and presented to cutting means which cuts the tops from the beets, and by means of beet-positioning tracks under the rear portions of said conveyors, the beets are positioned at a uniform elevation for top cutting. Beetgripping conveyors under the positioning tracks hold the beets vertically and slide them rearwardly along said tracks until the tops are severed, and the beets and tops may be discharged laterally of the machine or otherwise. The beets are uninjured and hence are readily acceptable to sugar refineries and the like, and the tops are also intact and form valuable stock feed.

To provide a machine which would successfully perform the required operations, whereas numerous others have failed, has of course, been our primary object, and in attaining this end, further aims have been to provide for adequately depressing any loosened beets which could not otherwise pass under the beet topgripping conveyors; to provide these conveyors in such form as to yieldably grip the beet tops with sufilcient force to elevate the beets, yet with a force which would allow sliding of the tops between the conveyors without injury while the beet-positioning tracks and the beet gripping conveyors were presenting the beets to the top cutting means; to provide the aforesaid beetgripping conveyors of such form that they would effectively perform their duties with beets of various sizes without injury thereto; to provide the aforesaid beet-positioning tracks as continuations of two longitudinal metal strips beneath which the beets are conveyed upwardly and rearwardly from the ground; to provide novel connecting means between the above mentioned trailer" and the digger, capable of allowing advantageous relative adjustments and pivotal movements thereof, and to provide a ma chine which would not entail prohibitive expensc for manufacture and maintenance.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig, 1 is a side elevation partly broken away and in section, showing the beet lifting and topping trailer operatively connected with a cnventional beet digger.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the "trailer partly in horizontal section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear end view.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view through one of the beet conveyors used for rearwardly sliding the beets along the tracks which dispose them at a uniform elevation for top cutting, this view being cut substantially on line 4--4 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, as indicated by line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged top plan view of the front end of the beet top gripping conveyors.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a detail transverse sectional view on line 99 of Fig. 1 showing the connecting means between the digger and the trailer.

A preferred construction has been illustrated and will be rather specifically described, with the understanding however that Within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous variations may be made.

The frame structure as a whole, for the trailer is denoted at It, said frame structure being provided with an axle H having ground wheels l2. In the present showing, four standards l3 are embodied in the rear portion of the frame Ii), said standards carrying an upper horizontal frame it which may support a gas engine I5, unless movable parts of the machine are to be driven from the ground wheels It. In the present disclosure, the frame M is provided with bearings IS for a horizontal shaft I! which is driven by appropriate means [8 from the engine l5, and said frame I l also carries two inclined bearings 59 and two vertical bearings 28 for shafts 23 and 22 respectively, which drive the above mentioned conveyors, said shafts 2| and 22 being all driven from the shaft H, by means of bevel gears or the like 23. Additional bevel gearing 24 is employed for utilizing the shaft ll to drive a substantially vertical shaft 25 in one direction or the other, and this shaft 25 is employed to drive conveying means for discharging the beets and possibly the tops also, laterally of the mahine. As the conveying means constitutes a separate invention from the remainder of the machine however, it has been omitted from the present disclosure.

In addition to features above described, the frame in embodies two forwardly declined, parallel, frame members or bars 26 whose intermediate portions are secured to hangers 21, the up per ends of said hangers being secured to the frame I4, said hangers being connected with appropriate parts of the frame ill by brace rods 28. Additional hangers 29 are provided for the front ends of the bars 25, holding the latter in rigid relation with other parts of the frame. At the front ends of the bars 25, sprockets Bil are mounted on plates 3! for forward and rearward adjustments, and at the rear ends of said bars 25, sprockets 32 are provided, these sprockets 32 being secured to the lower ends of the shafts 2 I. Endless sprocket chains 33 are trained around. the front sprockets 30 and the rear sprockets 32, and their inner and outer reaches are guided by appropriate rollers 34 and sprockets 35 mounted on the bars 26, the sprockets serving also to hold said reaches against sagging.

Endless beet top gripping belts 3B of yieldable nature, circumscribe the sprocket chains 33 respectively, and are preferably formed from conventional rubber and fabric belting. This belting is distorted into wave form, the crests of the waves being denoted at 37 and the troughs at 38. The wave crests 3'! of each belt mesh constantly with the wave troughs 38 of the other belt, and sufficient space exists between the two belts to prevent unnecessary injury to the beet tops when they are gripped between said belts, the space being insufiicient however to allow dropping of the beets from the belts. The pressure with which the beet tops are held however, is sufiiciently weak so that said beet tops can slide downwardly between said belts when required, incident to positioning of the beets and presentation thereof to the cutting means. The outer sides of all of the troughs of the belts 35% are secured to the chains 33 by rivets 39 or other desired fasteners, and it will be observed that said chains are disposed midway between the upper and lower edges of the belts, giving the latter quite an amount of leeway for lateral yielding.

Secured longitudinally against the lower sides of the bars 26, are two metal strips 48 which overlie the beets 13 while the belts 36 are gripping the beet tops T and conveying them rearwardly as in Fig. i. The front ends of the strips 4!! curve upwardly somewhat as denoted at M and the inner edges of these upwardly curved ends, preferably diverge as shown. Secured to the ends 4| are two forwardly diverging rods 42 which serve to condense the beet tops T transversely of the row and to guide them between the strips 40 and the belts 36. Disposed centrally between the rods 42 is a resilient rod 43 which declines rearwardly and is preferably curved as seen in Fig. 1. This rod 23 is secured in any preferred way to the beet digger D and it serves to depress any of the loosened beets which stand too high to otherwise pass under the strips 40 and the belts 33. The rear ends of the strips 40 are bent downwardly and disposed in rearwardly diverging relation with the lower edges of the belts 36, to provide longitudinal tracks 4-4 which are adapted to abut the upper ends of the beets B, no matter how far said ends may be below the strips 40, thereby disposing all of said beet ends at the same elevation as they are slid rearwardly along said tracks. By thus positioning all of the beets with their upper ends at a uniform elevation, any desired amount of said upper ends may be sheared from the beets with the tops T. We have shown a reciprocatory cutter 46 under the tracks 44, and turn buckles or the like 4'! are employed to vertically adjust said tracks so that more or less of the upper end of the boot may be removed with the top. It may here be stated, in passing that Fig. 1 discloses an extreme upward adjustment of the tracks 44, solely for purposes of illustration.

The cutter 46, while preferably of the reciprocatory type shown, could well be of some other appropriate design. In the present illustration, this cutter is connected with a pitman 48 which actuated by an eccentric 49 on a vertical shaft 50 mounted in appropriate bearings 51 on one of the standards 13, said shaft 50 being driven by beveled gearing or the like 52 from the counter shaft l1.

Transverse frame members 53 are suitably mounted in downwardly spaced relation with the tracks 44 and cutter 46, and two longitudinal frame bars 54 (Figs. 4 and 5) are supported horizontally upon said frame members 53, the rear ends of said bars 54 being provided with bearings 55 for the lower ends of the shafts 22 above described. Similar bars 54' are disposed longitudinally above the bars 54 and are rigidly connected therewith by appropriate spacing means. Disposed horizontally between each bar 54 and the superposed bar 54' are upper and lower V- shaped frames 56 and 56 respectively, said frames being pivotally mounted at their angles, upon a tie-bolt or spacer 5'? which extends between said bars. Mounted between the bars 54 and 54, near the ends of said bars are a front chain-guiding wheel 58 and a rear wheel 55, the latter being in the form of a sprocket secured to shaf 752. A third chain-guiding wheel 60 is mounted tween two of the arms of the frames 56 and 56, and a fourth chain-guiding wheel Si is mounted between the other arms of said frames. A sprocket chain 62 is trained around the various wheels 58, 59, 50 and GI, and the wheels 58, 5S and El] hold said chain in triangular form under normal circumstances, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4, appropriatc spring means 63 being employed to normally swing the frames 56 and 56' into the proper relation with the bars 54 and 54, to obtain said triangular positioning of the chain 52. These springs however allow such swinging of the frames 55 and 56' as to allow the wheel 51 and the chain portion passing around the same, to move inwardly toward the bars 54 and 54', and when this takes place the wheel ii! moves outwardly away from said bars, thus preventing slack in the chain.

A belt 64 circumscribes the chain 62 and may be formed from the same material as the belts 35. with the exception that a heavier and stiffer belting is used. Belt 64, sometimes called a butter belt, is formed of conventional belting and this belting is distorted into wave form, the crests of the waves being denoted at 55 and the troughs at 65, the outer sides of said troughs being secured at 5"! to the chain 62.

There are, as seen in Fig. 2, two of the assemblages detailed in Figs. 4 and 5, said assemblages being driven by the shafts 22, insofar as the chains All rfifilandibehstfi larerconcemed. illheseassembleges are located :directly under :the positioning :tracks M, scFthat when thezbeets abut isaid 'l'a-ackspme two belts 63 may yieldably .grip said beets, *the ftroughs 66 of said belts being in opposed relation .to re- ,ceive the heats. These =belts rearwardly :slide the hosts 13 along the Ltnaclcs M, :past the :cutter 46, causing the latter to severrthe tops'lI'a-nd'the immediately adsacent upper ends-of theibeets ushere- :irom. ,Asathebelts 5 lcontinueto move upwardly and 'reanwardly and rthe beets B must :travol horizontally under the tracks M, it will :be noted that the tops T must slide downwardly withrespect to said bolts .35. This is permitted howerer, without indury to lthe :beet ltops, .due -to the yieldable con- .stnuction of said belts The topped Ebeets are discharged from the rear .errdslof the belts? and :the tops -'I leave the bolts :36 .at the upper ends .of the latter, and any desired conveying means (not shown) may be employed yior carrying the beats and theitops laterally or otherwise. For connecting rthe*trailer" carrying the beetlifting and topping mechanism with the digger D, we prefer to use theconstruction shown in Figs. 1 and.9. A fixed transverse .frame l0, disposed in a substantiallyyerticalplane, is rigidly secured to the frame of the digger D, and a vertically elongated frame or yoke H is disposed within said "frame 10 andlispivoted to the latter by vertical :trunnions J2 at its rapper and lower ends. The sframe k0 is .providedwitha forwardly projecting draught portion 13 which passes through the frameor yoke :1 l .and'is connected with the latter bya'transversechorizontal bolt M. .Spaced opening-s iii: .are provided [in theyoke or frame I I, and other spaced openings 15 are formed through the draught portion 13, and the bolt M may bepassed through any of the openings, thereby affording relative longitudinal adjustment of the trailer and the digger and also aficrdingvertical adjustments. The bolt '54 acts as a pivot when raising or lowering thezframe oi the dlggerD ,andthe connected andof the ltmileflmndrdurlng nossagewf :tl'le'twomaGhines-pyer .unevenzsround. fliheitrunnions {2 allow rrelatine ltlmning 20f the two machines when they are beingiturned around at she ends ofthe field or whe rounding :tumsof any :kind.

While the general operation of the :maohlne might be understoodsfirom the precedin description, it may be briefiystated as :follows. ,As rthe machine advances astriclea row (if-beets, the'digger D loosens said beets in ground and lifts zthem somewhat, then dropping {the beets and the loosened earth and leavin the :boets standing more or loss vertically. Thenods 6.2 ironsversely condense the beet tops '1' and any beets standing sufficiently high are encased dili' the rod lsand-depressedso that they {may pass under the curved ends M of the strips All. The .conveyor belts .38 yieldably grip the 130138 T and hencerthe hosts are carried upwardly and rearwardly, suspended by means of their tops, season in Fig. l. Regardless of the distance which any beet may project below the strips 40, said beets will shut the tracks M at one point or another along the length of the flatter, and about the time such abutting takes :Place, the belts M yioldably but firmly gri the-beets, position them vertically, and

slide them ,rearwardly along the tracks M while the tops I ar still held and ro rrwardly 310N851 by the belts 36. As the beetsvin so tmoving, travel about horizontally wheness the 138M836 are inolined, will be seenthat the tops T must slide downwardly with m anest t said melts. h is readily permitted by the wieldablernature and the i ht spacing of said belts. 38y means of :the turn buQliIes M, "the tracks 4.4 are vertically ad- .iusted into proper relation with the cutter A6 to cause the latter to sever more or less of the beet i 5 with :the top, and .as the beets are successively iorcedagainstendpast the cutter 4.6 by the belts "each cutting operation will be cleanly performed. llhe topped beets are discharged from 'thebelts fill and :the:beet tops from the belts .35, s!!! and any appropriate conveying means or other provision maybe employed :for receiving the tops and beets. Due to the novel yielding mounting means for the belts 54, the inner reaches of the latter may spread to any required extent, according to :the size of any beet gripped thereby. The spring means \13 insure that when no beet is between the two bells t l, the inner reaches of the :latsershallbe very close to each other in readiness :togsip a very small beet, should the next one to 1m arrive be small. If the beet be of greater than minimum size however, the inner reaches of the belts M will spread to the required extent, the frames :55 and 56' then swinging outwardly against the action of the spring means 63. Dur- Z35 ing such outward swinging, the wheels 6| prevent slack in the chains 62 and the bolts 64, which would otherwise be caused by inward movement of the wheels 60.

Due to the excellent results which have been 0 obtained from the general structure herein disclosed, such structure is preferably followed. However, attention is again invited to the fact that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous variations may be made. m

We claim:-

1. In a beet harvester, a portable frame, two endless 'beet top grippers and conveyors mounted longitudinally on said frame and declining 'forwardly, means at the front ends of said top grippers and conveyors for guiding the tops of loosened beets between them, means at said front ends of said top grippers and conveyors for depressing any .of the loosened beets which would not-otherwise pass under-said top grippers and conveyors, two stationary lbeet'positioning tracks extending longitudinally under the rear portions of said top grippers and conveyors and diverging rearwardly from the flower edges therezof, said :tracks serving to abut vthe upper ends of the boots to dispose the latter at a uniform elevation preparatory to cutting the tops therefrom, two short yieldable endless beet grippers and conveyors mounted under said tracks and adapted to rearwardly slide the beets along said 535 tracks after the beets abutthetrackaand means for driving said endless beet 'top grippers and conveyors, and said endless 'beot grippers and conveyors.

2. In a beet harvester, a portable frame em- $0 bodying two forwardly declined frame members, two endless yieldable beet top gripping and con veying belts extending longitudinally of said frame members and each distorted into wave form, the wave crests of each belt being meshed $5 with the wave troughs of the other belt, endless means mounted longitudinally on said frame members and secured to the inner sides'of said belts to --maintain the wave tor-n1 of the latter, .means at the front ends of said frame members w ,forguiding the tops of loosened beets between said belts, means at saidifront ends of said frame :members for depressing any of the loosened beets which would not otherwise passunder said belts, twp stationary beet-positioning {tracks extencl- :15

ing longitudinally under the rear portions of said belts, but diverging rearwardly from the lower edges of the belts, said tracks serving to abut the upper ends of the beets to dispose the latter at a uniform elevation preparatory to cutting the tops therefrom, two short endless yieldable beetgripping and conveying belts under said tracks and each distorted into wave form, the wave troughs of said beet-gripping and conveying belts being in opposed relation to receive and grip the beets without injury, said beet-gripping and conveying belts being adapted to rearwardly slide the beets along said tracks after the beets abut said tracks, additional endless means secured to the inner sides of said beet-gripping and conveying belts for maintaining the wave form thereof, and means for driving all of the aforesaid endless means.

3. In a beet harvester of the type embodying beet-loosening plows and two forwardly declined conveyors adapted to grip the tops of loosened beets while the latter stand in the ground and to convey the beets rearwarclly; means spaced behind said plows and disposed in advance of said conveyors for depressing into the ground any of the loosened beets which would not otherwise pass under said conveyors.

4. In a beet harvester of the type embodying two forwardly declined conveyors adapted to grip the tops of loosened beets and thereby convey the beets rearwardly; a rod disposed centrally of the machine and having a rearwardly declined end which extends toward the front ends of said conveyors, said rod being adapted to slide upon and depress any of the loosened beets which would not otherwise pass under said conveyors.

5. In a beet harvester, two longitudinal forwardly declined endless beet top gripping and conveying belts each formed of conventional belting distorted into wave form, the wave crests of each belt being meshed with the wave troughs of the other belt, endless means secured to the outer sides of said wave troughs of said belts for maintaining said wave form, and mounting and driving means for said endless means. 6. In a beet harvester, a frame, two forwardly declined beet top gripping conveyors mounted on said frame, two flat strips extending longitudinally under the inner reaches of said conveyors and adapted to overlie the beets as the latter are rearwardly conveyed, the front ends of said strips being curved upwardly, the rear ends of said strips being bent downwardly into rearwardly diverging relation with said conveyors to provide beet-positioning tracks, said tracks being adapted to abut the upper ends of the beets to dispose them at a uniform elevation preparatory to cutting the tops from the beets, beet-gripping conveyors mounted under said tracks and adapted to slide the beets rearwardly along the same, and driving means for all of the aforesaid conveyors.

'7. In a beet harvester of the type embodying two forwardly declined conveyors which grip the tops of loosened beets and thereby convey the beets rearwardly; two stationary beet-positioning tracks extending longitudinally under the rear portions of said conveyors and diverging rearwardly from the lower edges of said conveyors, said tracks being adapted to abut the upper ends of the beets to dispose them at a uniform elevation preparatory to cutting the tops from the beets, two short beet-gripping and conveying belts under said tracks and each formed from conventional belting distorted into wave form,

the wave troughs of the two belts being opposed to receive and convey the beets without injury, said belts being adapted to rearwardly slide the beets along said tracks when the beets abut said tracks, endless means secured to the outer sides of the wave troughs of said belts for maintaining said wave form, and mounting and driving means for said endless means.

8. In a beet harvester of the type embodying two forwardly declined conveyors which grip the tops of loosened beets and thereby convey the beets rearwardly; two stationary beet-positioning tracks extending longitudinally under the rear portions of said conveyors and diverging rearwardly from the lower edges of said conveyors, said tracks being adapted to abut the upper ends of the beets to dispose them at a uniform elevation preparatory to cutting the tops from the beets, two short beet-gripping and conveying belts under said tracks and each formed of conventional belting distorted into wave form, the wave troughs of the two belts being opposed to receive and convey the beets without injury, said belts being adapted to rearwardly slide the beets along said tracks when the beets abut said tracks, endless means secured to the outer sides of the wave troughs of said belts for maintaining said wave form, yieldable mounting means for said endless means urging the two belts toward each other and allowing spreading thereof according to the size of any beet received between them, and driving means for said endless means.

9. In a beet harvester, two yieldable beet-gripping and conveying belts each formed of conventional belting distorted into Wave form, the wave troughs of said belts being opposed to receive and convey the beets without injury, endless means secured to the outer sides of said troughs of said belts for maintaining said wave form. and mounting and driving means for said endless means.

10. In a beet harvester, two yieldable beet gripping and conveying belts each formed of conventional belting distorted into wave form, the wave troughs of said belts being opposed to receive and convey the beets without injury, endless means secured to the outer sides of said troughs of said belts for maintaining said wave form, yieldable mounting means for said endless means urging the two belts toward each other and allowing spreading thereof according to the size of any beet gripped thereby, and driving means for said endless means.

11. An endless yieldable conveyor belt formed of conventional belting distorted into wave form, and endless means secured to the outer sides of the wave troughs of said belt to maintain said wave formation.

12. In a conveying means, an endless conveyor, three wheels around which said conveyor is trained, said wheels being positioned to normally dispose said conveyor in triangular form, stationary supporting means on which two of said wheels are mounted, a swingable frame pivoted to said supporting means and carrying the third wheel, spring means acting on said swingable frame for normally urging said third wheel outwardly but adapted to yield and allow inward movement of said third wheel, and a fourth wheel on said swingable frame engaging said conveyor and positioned to move outwardly when said third wheel moves inwardly and vice versa thereby preventing slack in the conveyor.

13. In a beet harvester, the combination of means to loosen the ground on opposite sides of a row of beets to leave them loosened in the ground in an upright position slightly above the level at which they grew, an elevating conveyor means to engage the tops of the loosened beets to pull them out of the ground, means to direct the leaves of the tops of the beets into the conveyor means, and means centrally arranged with respect to the leaf directing means to engage the crowns of any beets standing too high to depress such beets and prevent their bodies from being engaged by said conveyor means.

14. In a. beet harvester, the combination of means to loosen beets in the ground, an elevating conveyor means to engage the tops of the loosened beets to pull them out of the ground, and means behind said loosening means and in advance of said conveyor means to slide upon and depress any of the loosened beets which would not otherwise pass under said conveyor means. 

